ARLINGTON, Texas — José Ramírez had a pair of two-run singles and reached base five times as the Cleveland Guardians beat Texas 7-0 on Monday night and sent the Rangers to their first four-game losing streak of the season.
''He's pretty fun to watch,'' first-year Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said of Ramírez. ''Hosey's just remarkable, he really is. Nothing that he does surprises me. He's always looking to win.''
Five Cleveland pitchers combined for the four-hit shutout of the defending World Series champions. The AL Central-leading Guardians followed Sunday's 7-0 win over the Chicago White Sox for their first consecutive shutouts since August 5-6, 2020.
Nick Sandin followed Cleveland starter Tanner Bibee, coming into a scoreless game in the sixth inning with the bases loaded and one out. He struck out Adolis García, Texas' leader in home runs and RBI, and retired Josh Smith on a broken-bat ground out to second base.
Sandin said of facing García: ''Just knowing who's coming to the plate and having a good plan of attack, kind of getting ahead and then expand it (the strike zone) from there.''
Ramírez drove in two runs with singles in the eighth and ninth innings. He walked twice and also reached on a fielding error by Corey Seager in the first inning.
Brayan Rocchio, Cleveland's No. 9 batter, ended a scoreless struggle in the eighth inning when he hit a 90-mph cut fastball into shallow center field. Estevan Florial, who led off the inning with a double to right field over García, scored when Leody Taveras' throw to the plate bounced off the third-base side of the mound and into foul territory between home and third.
Andrés Giménez also had an RBI single in Cleveland's three-run ninth.